Not Exactly Royalty
by samusaran101
Summary: The story of how Peach and Daisy met as yung kids! Review!


Samusaran101: Hello, everyone! It's me, Samusaran101, with a nice little one-shot! Um… not much to say here. ENJOY! I was bored.

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_Little nine-year-old Princess Daisy grinned at her reflection in the clear blue pond, dangling upside down from a tree branch. She swiftly hooked her right ankle over a thick branch while keeping her left one on the branch she was hanging from; then Daisy reached up and grabbed the bark, letting her left ankle swing over the limb. Climbing around trees was so fun! Never before had the young tomboyish princess been allowed to be herself. So wonderful. So adventurous. So… free._

"_**Where have you been?" Mother had cried out at her yesterday, scooping her up. Daisy had been surprised at this form of worry, though at the moment Mother had looked more suspicious then concerned.**_

"_**I've been climbing trees, Mother," Daisy had replied, beaming at her parent.**_

"_**Climbing trees?" Mother had abruptly released her from a few feet in the air; she fell painfully onto the floor.**_

_**Of course, Mother hadn't meant to do that. It was a mistake.**_

_**Or so she thought.**_

"_**Climbing trees?!" Mother had repeated, a bit louder, narrowing her eyes. "Daisy, what did I tell you that you were allowed to do in your free time?"**_

"_**Draw, write, practice the harp, or do anything else that involves developing into a proper princess," Daisy had grumbled almost robotically.**_

"_**Indeed. And does 'climbing trees' have ANYTHING to do with that?"**_

"_**No, Mother,"**_

"_**Do something else,"**_

"_**Yes, Mother,"**_

_Pfft. Yeah, right. _

_Daisy scowled as she seized another tree branch and pulled herself up on it, so that she was sitting right side up. Was it normal to feel anger and distaste for her mother? Did Mother even love her?_

"_Nope," Daisy muttered under her breath, leaping off of the high limb to one of the lower ones. "She doesn't care about me. All she needs-" Another leap, another scowl, "… is a heir to her stupid little throne. I don't WANT to be a princess!"_

_Daisy hoisted her knees over the bark of a branch and rested for a moment, angry and hurt._

"_You really shouldn't be saying those things, you know,"_

_Daisy started a little, and was met with an upside-down version of a girl dressed in pink with her arms crossed staring calculatingly back at her._

"_Who are you?" Daisy demanded._

_The girl smoothed her skirt in such a girlish manner that Daisy felt nauseous. It was because of girls like these that Daisy avoided talking to the other princesses. _

"_Who am I? I am Princess Peach, future ruler of the Mushroom Kingdom, of course! And… you are?" She gave Daisy a disdainful look._

"_I'm Daisy, 'future ruler of Sarasaland'!" Daisy said, mimicking Peach's high-pitched voice._

_Peach gasped. "Why, you little leech!"_

"_Sue me," Daisy shrugged carelessly._

"_Get down from there! You're going to break your neck!" Peach exclaimed._

"_So what?"_

"_So you're going to get hurt!"_

"_Why would you care?"_

"_Loathe am I to admit it-"_

"_Ooh, big words! I guess your prim mind isn't filled with air after all, Princess Peach. I'm impressed,"_

"_Ugh!" Peach shook her head. As she did so, her blonde hair bounced around, curling around her slim shoulders. Shiny. Golden. Soft. The perfect, glossy locks were beautiful. Daisy glanced down at one of her messy frizzy curls and felt a surge of jealousy._

_The girl in pink continued, "You didn't let me speak!"_

"_By all means, go on, then. I am so sorry for interrupting her royal highness." Daisy gave a mocking bow from where she was perched on the limb of the tree, smirking sarcastically at the girl. "Please continue,"_

"_Loathe am I to admit it…" Peach continued, then once again gave Daisy one of those Stars-be-damned disapproving frowns (was that all she could do? Honestly…), "we are cousins,"_

_Daisy froze for a second. She had recalled her Mother talking about a Peach…_

"_**Daisy!" Mother cried, looking irritated. "Where on EARTH have you been, child?"**_

"_**I was in the Moo Moo Meadows, Mother," Daisy explained, grinning. She had one hand behind her back. Oh, why was Mother so angry at her all the time? It never made sense! Did she not like her own daughter? She ALWAYS complimented the OTHER princesses! But today, Daisy had a gift for Mother! Mother was absolutely going to LOVE it! And then, maybe Mother's generosity towards the gift would make her love Daisy also!**_

"_**Moo Moo Meadows?" Mother looked at her sternly. "Who took you?"**_

"_**Father did, of course! He said he wanted me to get some fresh air without you knowing!" At Mother's narrowed eyes, Daisy gulped. Had she said something wrong? Was Mother mad at her?**_

_**Oh, well. It didn't matter now. There was no turning back.**_

_**Quickly, she continued, "Oh, Mother, it was WONDERFUL! The sun was shining, the birds were chirping, and the trees were so nice and lush and green!"**_

_**Mother still looked mad. That was never good. When Mother wasn't happy, nobody was happy. **_

"_**And what, precisely, did you DO in such a WONDERFUL place?"**_

"_**I got you a gift!" Daisy held out flowers to Mother, holding her breath as blue eyes darted over them. Mother's perfect manicured hands pried them away from her tiny ones.**_

"_**These are tulips, Daisy," Mother said cautiously.**_

"_**I know, Mother! Father said they were beautiful flowers!"**_

"_**Indeed." Mother paused, and then tightened her grip around the few stems. "This flower is a deadly weapon, Daisy."**_

"_**What?" Daisy asked quietly. "What do you mean?"**_

"_**I mean," Mother said coldly, "we do not, do NOT, plant flowers around here in Sarasaland!"**_

"_**Why?" Daisy cried, distressed. She was trying to be NICE!**_

"_**First of all," Mother said, picking up her scepter, "we live in a desert. What is the first rule in "A Guidance to Become a Proper Princess"?"**_

"_**Never break tradition, yes, I know, yet-"**_

"_**SECOND of all," Mother snapped, angling her scepter with the petals of the tulip, "even if we DID plant flowers, we would have a maid do it. What is the second rule?"**_

"_**Do not do anything others are supposed and expected to do for you," Daisy recited, "but-"**_

"_**THIRD," Mother said even louder still, placing the scepter atop of the flower, "this flower is not a part of the inside world. It belongs outside, like all of the others. What is the third rule?"**_

"_**Never associate with anything or anyone besides your kind," Daisy said quietly.**_

_**Mother clutched the flowers even tighter, and raised her scepter.**_

"_**NO! WAIT! MOTHER!" Daisy screamed.**_

_**The flowers burst into flames.**_

_**Daisy sank to the floor in horror, burying her face in my hands, sobbing her heart out. Those were for Mother! And Mother… she had not even disliked them. She had hated them.**_

"_**Oh, grow UP, Daisy," Mother said crisply, her words cutting like knives. "and kindly try and think about how you could be more like your Aunt's daughter, Peach. I'm going to have a little… chat… with your father,"**_

_**And sending a heartless look at her crying child curled up, hysterical, on the floor, she gave a sound of disgust and left. And at that very pain-filled moment, Daisy could not help but think and feel that it would have hurt less if she had killed Daisy instead.**_

_Daisy was snapped out of the horrible memory. She gasped. Peach gave her a startled look. Embarrassed, she decided to ask a question she already knew the answer to._

"_Wait… so you're Auntie Beth's daughter?"_

"_Yes," Peach nodded._

"_You look NOTHING like her… and you don't see to act like her either," Daisy grimaced. Her aunt was a carefree woman, not really a tomboy but certainly not girly either. She was a rebel; a lady with a purpose. Daring. She didn't play by anyone's rules. How could someone so wonderful-as well as a great inspiration for Daisy herself-have such a dumb daughter?_

"_That sounded quite rude," Peach chided. "You'd ought to think before you speak,"_

"_I'd ought to, but I don't." Daisy crossed her arms. "And you are NOT my cousin,"_

"_Oh, really? Then, I suppose you are not my cousin either," Peach huffed, turning away from her._

_It took a few seconds for the tensions to settle in before Peach sighed._

"_I can't do this. We ARE cousins, and we can't change our blood status, our families' relationships, or who we both are. I know who I am, of course, but I don't know you as well as I think I could,"_

"_We've talked for five minutes," Daisy said scornfully, reaching up to grab yet another branch, "and I ALREADY don't like you,"_

"_That's because you think I'm girly," Peach said scientifically, "a princess who follows all rules. Probably a prim person. Nice. Kind. Innocent. Perhaps even an airhead,"_

"_Wow," Daisy said thoughtfully. "Are you psychic?"_

"_No," Peach said. "I'm not. I can just tell what you're thinking,"_

"_Hmm,"_

"_Am I right?"_

"_Very much so, cuzzy,"_

_Peach winced at Daisy's slang. _

_Daisy rolled her eyes. "Listen, __**Peach**__. It's been nice talking to you-or rather, not so nice at all. Just please stay out of my way for the rest of my living days, and have a nice rest of your life. Good day,"_

_She hoisted herself over the tree, scrambling up as fast as she could to the top. The height below didn't bother her at all; heights had never been a great fear of hers. Branch after branch passed until the tomboyish princess finally reached the peak of the tree, stretching fifteen rather impressive feet off of the ground. She clutched at the soft leaves and wrapped both of her knees around the bark, steadying herself, before letting go of it, flinging her scrawny arms in the air, and letting out an optimistic whoop of happiness. The wind blew her hair back, howling in her ears. She closed her eyes and laughed in a somewhat maniac-like way, beaming at pure nothingness. All she saw was the sort of tan-colored emptiness you could visualize when one closes their eyes and turns to the evening sun during the fall. Oh, how she wished she could live every day like this! Being the person she wanted to be and truly was: the rebel._

"_Get down here!" Peach's voice was nearly like a knife through glass, shattering Daisy's joy to fallen broken shards onto the floor. Irritated, Daisy opened her almond-shaped blue eyes to scowl at her cousin below. _

"_Why are you still here? Stung by that remark earlier?"_

"_A little, yes, but that isn't why-"_

"_Ah, of course. Fine. You're my cousin. From now on, your name has officially been changed to Cousin. Cuz for short. And by 'from now on' I mean for the next thirty seconds until the amazing time that I will wait for when you will turn around in your pretty little pink sparkly sandals and LEAVE,"_

"_You may think I'm way too different for your liking," Peach's high, cool voice said matter-of-factly down below, "but still, you're my relative, and I don't want you to get hurt!"_

"_I'm not GOING to get hurt!" Daisy said impatiently. "I'm not some helpless little crap-for-brains girl like you are!"_

"_Watch your mouth," Peach said sharply._

"_What do you want, Cuz? I want a nice peaceful evening, alone, by myself, doing what I want to do without anyone else telling me how to do it, or why I shouldn't do it. And quite frankly, you're interrupting me from doing all four of them."_

"_I want to ask you if we can be friends!" Peach cried angrily._

_Daisy stared at her. "Oh. Okay. I see. You've gone completely mad,"_

"_No!" Peach stomped her foot in frustration. "I thought it would be a good idea-a NICE idea-for us to get together and talk since all my other relatives don't LIKE me!" _

_**I can relate to that,**__ Daisy thought, surprised that the pink princess and she could have anything in common. _

_But the tomboy was not to be convinced._

"_Explain," she said calculatingly._

"_I've always gotten the idea my father hated me," Peach said quietly. "I always thought he'd left the family because of me, because he was ashamed in me as a daughter."_

"_Your father left you?" Daisy, despite her instincts, was curious._

"_Yes," Peach sighed. "My mother made me feel good about myself, though… I can trust her with being myself, without being embarrassed. But when Father just deserted us both… it made me think of what I could have done-what I should have done-to make him stay. I can't talk to Mother about that… who can talk to ANYONE about that? It's just unreal,"_

"_I… felt like that too," Daisy admitted. "Only it's the opposite,"_

"_Really?" Peach tilted her head. "Feel free to oblige," _

_Daisy swung down from the top of the tree, ducking between branches, until she was about halfway down. "Well… my mother wants me to be seen as someone I don't want to be. She puts me down, and I don't know what she thinks I'm doing wrong. It's like she's some kind of angel, and I'm her stupid (Peach gave her a strict frown before nodding for her to continue) and demonic rival. Sometimes I can't even relate to her anymore. How is she POSSIBLY my mother? She doesn't talk to me. She doesn't understand me. She doesn't even LIKE me, for Star's sake!" Daisy shook her head. "She was never there for me."_

_Peach pursed her lips. "I see,"_

"_Father is amazing, though… but one day, he won't be able to stand up for me," Daisy hesitated, then jumped down, falling seven-and-a-half feet below._

"_OH MY STARS!" Peach shrieked. "ARE YOU WELL?"_

_She scrambled over to where the princess had taken her leap. Daisy brushed herself off absent-mindedly, smiling. "That was fun!"_

"_FUN?! You nearly died!"_

"_I wouldn't have died!"_

"_Yes!"_

"_No!"_

"_Yes!"_

"_No!"_

"_YES!"_

"_NO!"_

"_I can argue about this all day, you know, Daisy!"_

"_Fine! If I 'would have died', then why didn't I?"_

"_You were lucky!"_

"_It was barely more than seven feet-"_

"_It was much more than seven feet-"_

"_You liar!"_

"_What?! You're the liar!"_

"_I didn't even lie!"_

"_Neither did I!"_

"_Yes, you did!"_

"_No, I didn't!"_

"_YOU DID!"_

"_I DIDN'T!"_

_Peach and Daisy were face-to-face, baby blue eyes and dark blue eyes boring into each other, glaring._

_Peach pulled away first, wiping her gloves on her small pink dress. "Well…"_

_For some reason, a splitting smile was stretching across Daisy's face. And although she didn't know what was so funny, she didn't want to take it off._

_The chilly autumn breeze whistled through the air. The two girls were looking at each other, that much was clear._

_Peach eyed Daisy; the messy curls and dirty dress were both not characteristics that princesses would have obtained. If she had seen her cousin on the street, she would have mistaken her for a peasant. The girl seemed vaguely unattractive in all ways in which princesses could attract men to them. Daisy had other features that were nearly hideous for royalty; her smirking pale lips that sparkled with saliva, her pale freckled cheeks that were smeared and streaked with filth and mud. But her beautiful eyes were what made Daisy look pretty; dark and deep; blue; mischievous in a sly, almost seductive sort of way. So Peach offered her cousin a tiny smile._

_Daisy felt a surge of envy at Peach. Perfect. Peach. Perfect Peach with the pink dress. Perfect Peach with the high heels. Perfect, prissy, prim and proper little Princess Peach with the annoyingly gorgeous silky-smooth skin and cotton-produced gloves and beach-blonde hair and pink puckered lips and the small cute nose and the sparkling eyes… ugh. At least the little girly girl's dress was a bit dirty on the bottom from the wet mud beneath her feet. Thank the Stars for small mercies. Then Daisy spotted something else on her cousin's face._

_The smile._

_The smile was contagious, spreading out into the moist fall air, and Daisy fought now to return it. It twisted Peach's lipstick-covered mouth widely, and appeared to be only slightly forced._

_Daisy, against her will, found herself smiling back stupidly._

"_Do you realize what happened up there?" Peach whispered._

_Daisy shook her head slowly._

"_Before you jumped," Each and every word was said slowly, "we had a rational conversation,"_

_Silence had never been more evident in a talk this much before in Daisy's life._

_Daisy had to admit; part of her didn't want to be Peach's friend-or, in fact, be included in her life at all whatsoever-simply… because. She had always had a self-confident, loner-like personality to the people she didn't like or know. But another part-a part she was desperately trying to ignore utterly and completely-was telling her that maybe Peach and her were NOT, in fact, so different after all. _

_**Maybe,**__ her mind said thoughtfully, __**she could be your friend. Why don't you ask her?**_

_**No way,**__ Daisy thought scornfully. If Peach wanted to be her friend, SHE was going to have to do better than just SMILE. She would have to dig deeper. Daisy knew this was both ridiculous and selfish, but she couldn't help herself._

"_I think you're more like me then you pretend not to be," Peach said quietly._

_Daisy snorted. "Kiss my ass,"_

"_LANGUAGE!" Peach exclaimed, looking shocked and horrified. "Where did you even LEARN such vulgar words?!"_

"_Well, there's this weird kid Waluigi down my block, and his mom's always stubbing her foot on the ground. Sometimes she says… those things, and I pick them up from her." Daisy shrugged. "The first time she did it, she said, and I quote," The devilish tomboy grabbed her foot and started hopping around while feigning intense pain, "SON OF A BITCH BASTARD! OH MY GOD! I HATE MY LIFE! I HATE MY SHIT-FILLED LIFE SO FUCKING MUCH!"_

_Peach plastered her pink lips together, obviously trying not to laugh. She, instead, gave Daisy a look of stern disapproval. "I see,"_

_Daisy gave her a rather cool, cautious look. Peach returned the expression, staring right back at her._

"_Do you want to know what I think?" Daisy asked finally. Without letting Peach answer, she said, "I think you're a goody-goody."_

_Peach blinked. "Come again?"_

"_In other words, I think," Daisy hiked a thumb at her chest sharply, "you're not unique. You're just like all of the other princesses that become queens. You play by all the other people's rules,"_

"_Oh, really?" There was a glint in her cousin's eyes she hadn't seen before; it was one filled with unexpected mischief._

"_Yes," Daisy said suspiciously. "You all are. All of you princesses are… I know it,"_

"_You're a princess too, Daisy," Peach said slyly._

"_Yes… but… I'm not like you!"_

"_What is that supposed to mean, exactly?"_

"_That you don't do anything for yourself!" Daisy screeched impatiently, the last thin line of her patience snapping in two. "You're a goddamn girly girl! A stupid, know-it-all, prim proper good-for-nothing robot of a girl! You do whatever-and I mean WHATEVER-others tell you to do! TAKE A RISK! You NEVER do! I KNOW you never do!"_

"_Then you might be interested to hear who and how the 'mystery person' pulled that pink-underwear-in-the-laundry prank on the butler yesterday."_

_Daisy gaped. That was sudden, and extremely unexpected. It made her take a step back in surprise. "That was YOU?"_

_Peach smiled. "The very woman,"_

_No. It couldn't be. Peach was playing with her mind, trying to make her like her. Well, it wouldn't work on THIS princess! Daisy knew better._

"_You're lying," Daisy defended._

"_Sue me," Peach still had that mischievous smile-dear great Stars in Star Heaven, it was barely a smile at all! It was pure evil, and if the person had been anyone but Princess Peach Toadstool, Daisy would've declared it a smirk-on her face._

_No! Of course not! Princesses didn't smirk! Correction; THESE kinds of princesses didn't smirk. But at that moment, Daisy could tell her cousin was not, in fact, lying at all. Shocked, she could only choke out one word._

"_How?"_

"_Laundry detergent, pink dye, his clothes, ta-da!"_

_Daisy couldn't help it; she laughed, her giggles hitching in a high-pitched way. "Wow. Maybe you do have hope in life after all,"_

"_Yes," Peach tilted her head, grinning. "I suppose I do. I'm not a tomboy, though, right?" A look of horror dawned on her beautiful face._

"_Let's not get carried away here." Daisy rolled her eyes. "So… they suspected YOU?"_

"_They thought it was you, actually, before your father denied it. But next to you, who would EVER suspect poor, innocent, pink-wearing Peach?"_

_Daisy grinned. "You know, Cuz, I'm starting to abhor your presence SLIGHTLY less,"_

"_That's very good to know," Peach stated cheerfully. "I was about to say the same to you,"_

"_Hey!" Daisy pushed Peach a little. The princess gasped, let out a little screech, and fell to the ground, landing in a crumpled pile of pink skirts encrusted with bows and pearls. She curled up into a fetal position on the ground, eyes fluttering shut and watering. Her body was tossed atop the ground in an almost rag-doll way, one arm landing to cross her chest, the other landing, perfect and white-gloved, to the floor; lifeless, and somewhat graceful. Peach looked like a damsel in distress who had just been attacked then kidnapped, and thrown mercilessly on the floor of a cold dark dungeon. She whimpered._

"_Cuz?" Daisy said, smirk fading. "Cuz… are you okay?"_

_No response. Daisy started to panic._

"_Oh my Stars… I'm so sorry… I didn't mean-"_

_Daisy was cut off by a heel hitting her in the face. It didn't hurt; the heels were rubber and almost soft, but the tomboy was caught off-guard for sure. She stepped back and spotted Peach with her now dirty gloved hands over her mouth, giggling hysterically._

"_YOU!" Daisy growled, picking up her shoe. "Come back here!"_

_Peach let out a small shriek and, still laughing hard, took off running. Daisy, who ran after her, was the only person with a bigger smile._

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Samusaran101: Short and sweet! Yay! Leave a review! I'll be at my sister's communion! She has the special host because she's allergic to wheat. REVIEW IF YOU CARE! Lol, you don't have to! But really, she's allergic to wheat… Thanks for reading!


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